by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
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Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
The Sacrifice of Isaac by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi: A Former Caravaggio Attribution
The picture on this legacy “Sacrifice of Isaac (1598)” page is now catalogued as a painting by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, made about 1615–17. It was exhibited for years as a Caravaggio, and that older attribution explains its place in the Caravaggio cluster and the inherited web address. The current Nicholas Hall catalogue names Cavarozzi and describes his work as a reworking of Caravaggio's Uffizi Sacrifice of Isaac, painted around 1603.[1][2]
The change of name is not a small footnote. The work has its own scale, date, history and artistic achievement. Its former attribution explains why it was once grouped with Caravaggio's paintings, while its current attribution identifies the maker supported by more recent scholarship.[1]
Caravaggio in context
The Cardsharps
c.1595Calling of Saint Matthew
1599–1600Supper at Emmaus
1601At a Glance
- Current catalogue attributionBartolomeo Cavarozzi[1]
- TitleThe Sacrifice of Isaac[1]
- Dateabout 1615–17 in the Nicholas Hall catalogue; “1598” is an inherited URL label, not the accepted date[1]
- Mediumoil on canvas[1]
- Dimensions116 × 175 cm, height × width[1]
- Collectionprivate collection as recorded for the catalogue exhibition[1]
- Attribution historylong exhibited as Caravaggio; Ferdinando Bologna proposed Cavarozzi in 1992, and later scholarship has increasingly supported him[1]
- Related Caravaggio workUffizi Sacrifice of Isaac, c.1603, commissioned by Maffeo Barberini[1][2]
Contents
- What the Painting Shows
- Why the Artist's Name Changed
- Cavarozzi and Caravaggio's Example
- The Work's Size, Date and Provenance
- Comparing the Uffizi Painting
- How to Read an Inherited Attribution
- Remaining Questions
- Frequently Asked Questions
What the Painting Shows
The biblical subject is the moment when an angel stops Abraham from sacrificing Isaac. A ram becomes the substitute offering. Cavarozzi places bodies, fabrics and the animal within an intense, dark setting. His handling of fire, fleece and reflective cloth attracted attention in the painting's recent catalogue essay. The visual drama helps explain why the work was once considered close to Caravaggio.[1][3]
The scene carries several kinds of pressure at once. Abraham's action is nearly complete, Isaac is vulnerable, and the angel's intervention makes rescue possible. The ram is not decorative livestock; it is the key to the story's reversal. Viewers can follow the figures' gestures without needing the disputed old name to feel the tension.
The painting is broad, 116 × 175 cm. Those measurements differ sharply from the Uffizi Caravaggio's 104 × 135 cm. They should not be merged into a single object record because the two works share a title. The larger horizontal field gives Cavarozzi a different arrangement of figures, light and materials.[1][2]
The current catalogue calls the picture a sophisticated tenebrist response to Caravaggio's treatment. That is more informative than dismissing it as a poor copy. A painter can take a powerful earlier subject and reorganise it for another patron or moment. This work should be looked at as Cavarozzi's painting while its connection to Caravaggio is kept clear.[1]
Why the Artist's Name Changed
Mina Gregori published the picture as Caravaggio in 1989, and it appeared under his name in exhibitions during the 1990s and later. The Nicholas Hall catalogue lists that history in detail. Ferdinando Bologna proposed Cavarozzi in 1992; subsequent specialists developed the attribution to the younger painter. The catalogue essay says more recent studies are nearly unanimous in favouring Cavarozzi.[1]
An attribution is a historical argument about the actual paint surface. It can change as scholars compare technique, related works and documents. Earlier Caravaggio labels explain the site's inherited “1598” naming, but an old exhibition label alone cannot outweigh a current, researched object entry. Conversely, the older opinion should not be erased. It documents how the painting was received and why it became part of discussions of Caravaggio's early work.[1]
The catalogue's bibliography is unusually useful because it records proponents of both names over several decades. Some sources said Caravaggio; others said “attributed to” or explicitly named Cavarozzi. A public article can summarize that trajectory without implying every scholar changed their mind at once, or that one newly discovered document magically settled every question.[1]
The present attribution to Cavarozzi also has independent museum support. The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya describes a copy of the Piasecka Johnson composition in its collection and identifies the original as formerly attributed to Caravaggio but now to Cavarozzi. That record concerns a copy, not the canvas discussed here, yet it corroborates the wider shift in attribution after the 2014 sale.[4]
Cavarozzi and Caravaggio's Example
Cavarozzi was a significant painter among the artists who engaged with Caravaggio's naturalism and dramatic light. The Nicholas Hall essay by Yuri Primarosa places this Sacrifice in his development and praises the treatment of embers, ram's fleece and shimmering fabric. Those observations attend to the actual strengths of Cavarozzi's hand rather than measuring the painting only by whether it can pass for Caravaggio.[1]
The essay describes a reworking of Caravaggio's Uffizi composition, made for Maffeo Barberini about 1603. The episode from Genesis gave both painters the same central elements: Abraham, Isaac, angel and ram. Cavarozzi adapted those elements into his own canvas. The relationship is art-historical and visual, not evidence that Caravaggio painted two interchangeable versions.[1][2][3]
Because the current painting was long catalogued as Caravaggio, it offers a useful case study in how his style circulated. Strong illumination, bodily immediacy and a violent turning point became part of a wider artistic language. Seeing that influence does not require every related work to be autograph. It lets a reader recognise Cavarozzi as an artist with agency and craft.
The essay suggests the work may have been intended for a prestigious setting and discusses possible links to Spain. Those are proposals based on its quality, copies and known later movements, not a documented original commission. The source itself says that details of the early history remain to be discovered.[1]
The Work's Size, Date and Provenance
The Nicholas Hall record gives c.1615–17, oil on canvas, 116 × 175 cm. It lists Antonio Vives in Madrid in 1939, Barbara Piasecka Johnson by 1989, and the Sotheby's London sale on 9 July 2014, lot 30, after which it entered a private collection. These are the documented later stages to name. A continuous seventeenth-century ownership chain should not be invented between them.[1]
The catalogue considers whether the picture was made for an Iberian collector or travelled from Italy to Spain through other channels, including Naples. It judges one proposed Spanish-execution scenario less likely. These remain hypotheses because the early route has not been established.[1]
The inherited date “1598” conflicts with the current attribution and proposed creation period. If Cavarozzi made the work around 1615–17, it is not an early Caravaggio painting of the 1590s. The address can remain as a stable entry point while the visible article corrects the record. Readers arriving through search deserve a clear answer immediately.
The same care applies to collection location. The catalogue says “Lent by a Private Collection” for its exhibition. That does not establish a named present owner or permanent gallery. The verified status is a private-collection loan at the time of that exhibition, with no permanent public gallery established here.
Comparing the Uffizi Painting
The Uffizi Caravaggio dates about 1603, measures 104 × 135 cm, and bears inventory 1890 no. 4659. Its owner identifies Maffeo Barberini as commissioner and cites payments to the painter. The angel visibly grasps Abraham's wrist and points to the substitute ram as Isaac cries out. A landscape opens behind the compact group.[2]
Cavarozzi's canvas is later, larger and documented under another ownership history. Its recent catalogue describes a dramatic, dark reinterpretation with striking fabrics, fleece and embers. The two paintings can be put side by side to explore how a follower transformed a familiar biblical turning point. Their measurements, patrons and artist names must remain attached to the correct image.[1][2]
The comparison also clarifies why a claim such as “Caravaggio painted this in 1598” fails. It confuses the current Cavarozzi attribution with an obsolete date and overlooks the separate Caravaggio Uffizi object. A well-linked cluster can preserve both pages because one explains Caravaggio's accepted work and the other explains the reach and attribution history of his example.
How to Read an Inherited Attribution
Attribution labels in older web pages can be sticky. A URL, image filename or search snippet may continue to carry an artist's name after museum or scholarly opinion changes. For this route, the evidence-led approach is to say what the current object catalogue says first, then explain how earlier Caravaggio attributions arose.[1]
The Nicholas Hall catalogue is an exhibition and sales-context source directly concerned with this painting. It provides measurements, dated provenance and an essay with extensive bibliography. The Barcelona museum's record independently confirms the direction of the attribution change, although its own object is a later copy rather than this painting.[1][4]
The work's modern ownership and exhibition history can be described from the catalogue, while its original commission and seventeenth-century travels remain undocumented.[1]
Remaining Questions
The earliest owner and original commission are not secure in the cited catalogue. The exact route by which the painting entered Spanish collecting remains a set of proposals. Scholars have recorded the change from Caravaggio to Cavarozzi, but the bibliography itself shows that attribution has a history of disagreement.[1]
None of these gaps requires the painting to disappear. Its own date, size, documented modern provenance and current artist attribution make it a substantial example of the Caravaggio legacy. The right way to place it in this cluster is as a Cavarozzi work whose former Caravaggio label is worth understanding.
Explore the Caravaggio collection
| Name | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Adoration of the Shepherds by Caravaggio: The Messina Nativity | 1608–09; precise order relative to Resurrection of Lazarus remains unresolved | Artwork |
| Amor Victorious by Caravaggio | 1601–02 in the Berlin owner record | Artwork |
| Bacchus by Caravaggio: The Uffizi Painting | about 1598, according to the Uffizi | Artwork |
| Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio | after 1597, probably around the turn of the seventeenth century, according to the Ambrosiana | Artwork |
| Boy Bitten by a Lizard: Caravaggio's London Painting | about 1594–95 in the National Gallery's current catalogue; URL suffix “1596” is inherited | Artwork |
| Boy Bitten by a Lizard: The Florence Version Attributed to Caravaggio | disputed; Longhi's catalogue record preserves historical 1592–93 and other proposed ranges, including c.1597 | Artwork |
| Boy Peeling Fruit by Caravaggio: The Royal Collection Painting | about 1592–93 in the owner's current exhibition record | Artwork |
| Boy Peeling Fruit in Florence: A Derivation from Caravaggio | — | Artwork |
| Boy with a Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio | about 1595 in the Galleria Borghese catalogue | Artwork |
| Caravaggio Paintings in Rome: Churches, Museums and a Practical Route | — | Guide |
| Caravaggio Quotes: What the Documents Actually Record | — | Guide |
| Caravaggio's Lute Player: The Del Monte Painting Once Shown at the Met | about 1596–97 in the Met catalogue | Artwork |
| Caravaggio's Painting Technique: Grounds, Incisions, Revisions and Light | — | Guide |
| Christ at the Column by Caravaggio: The Rouen Flagellation | c.1606 in the owner caption; owner prose gives 1606–07 | Artwork |
| Christ on the Mount of Olives by Caravaggio: The Lost Berlin Painting | — | Artwork |
| Conversion on the Way to Damascus by Caravaggio | about 1601 in the Roma Capitale church record | Artwork |
| Crowning with Thorns by Caravaggio: The Vienna Painting | about 1603 in the 2019 KHM record; “1607” is an inherited URL suffix | Artwork |
| Crowning with Thorns in Prato: Attributed to Caravaggio | about 1602–03 in the collection presentation | Artwork |
| David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio: The Borghese Painting | 1606–07 or 1609–10 in the Galleria Borghese catalogue; the later Naples period is favoured by many scholars, while the owner keeps the question open | Artwork |
| David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio: The Prado Painting | about 1600 in Prado material; “1599” survives only in the legacy URL | Artwork |
| David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio: The Vienna Painting | about 1600–01 in the KHM's 2019 exhibition record; “1607” is a legacy route label | Artwork |
| Did Caravaggio Make Drawings? What Survives and What Paintings Reveal | — | Guide |
| Ecce Homo: Caravaggio's Madrid Rediscovery and the Genoa Painting | — | Artwork |
| John the Baptist in Caravaggio's Paintings: A Guide to the Different Versions | — | Artwork |
| Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio | beginning of the seventeenth century in the owning museum's account; about 1599–1600 in the Kimbell's 2025 loan label; around 1602 in one specialist catalogue | Artwork |
| Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto: Caravaggio's Ludovisi Ceiling | about 1597; the archive connects the work with Cardinal del Monte's 1597 commission | Artwork |
| Madonna and Child with Saint Anne by Caravaggio: The Palafrenieri Altarpiece | 1605 in the Galleria Borghese object field; completed and delivered by 8 April 1606 | Artwork |
| Madonna of Loreto by Caravaggio: The Pilgrims at Sant'Agostino | broadly c.1604–06; institutional records differ slightly in their starting year | Artwork |
| Madonna of the Rosary by Caravaggio: The Vienna Altarpiece | around 1603 in the Kunsthistorisches Museum's object record | Artwork |
| Martha and Mary Magdalene by Caravaggio: The Detroit Painting | about 1598 in the Detroit Institute of Arts record | Artwork |
| Medusa by Caravaggio: The Uffizi Painted Shield | 1596–98 in the Uffizi's virtual exhibition; specialist research reports the shield delivered to the Medici wardrobe by 7 September 1598 | Artwork |
| Narcissus, Attributed to Caravaggio | dependent on attribution; the Zeri catalogue gives a broad 1610–50 range under Spadarino | Artwork |
| Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence: Caravaggio's Missing Painting | somewhere in 1600–09 in the parliamentary report; a specific 1609 execution and place remain debated | Artwork |
| Penitent Mary Magdalene by Caravaggio | 1597 in the owner's catalogue, during Caravaggio's early Roman activity | Artwork |
| Portrait of a Courtesan: Caravaggio's Lost Berlin Portrait | Berlin's data field says c.1590, while its own text compares a Caravaggio work of c.1598; precise date unresolved | Artwork |
| Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and His Page by Caravaggio | — | Artwork |
| Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli? Caravaggio's Pitti Knight of Malta | 1608 in the Restituzioni object heading; within Caravaggio's Malta period | Artwork |
| Portrait of Maffeo Barberini: The Seated Corsini Painting | c.1596–97 in the national catalogue | Artwork |
| Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini: Caravaggio's Newly Acquired Painting | around the late 1590s / age thirty; “1598” in the inherited address is approximate, not an exact document date | Artwork |
| Portrait of Pope Paul V: A Caravaggio Attribution and a Borghese Copy | — | Artwork |
| Prints After Caravaggio: Who Made Them and What They Show | — | Guide |
| Reclining Saint John the Baptist: A Disputed Caravaggio Attribution | often proposed for the artist's final years; the later museum list does not give a precise year. | Artwork |
| Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Caravaggio | about 1597 in the owner's catalogue | Artwork |
| Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Caravaggio: The Thyssen Painting | about 1598–99 in the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza catalogue | Artwork |
| Saint Francis in Meditation by Caravaggio: The Cremona Painting | 1603–06 in the owner account; c.1605–06 in a KHM exhibition caption | Artwork |
| Saint Francis in Prayer: Caravaggio's Carpineto Painting | 1606 in a 2016–17 exhibition work list | Artwork |
| Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy by Caravaggio | c.1595–96 in the owner wall text | Artwork |
| Saint Jerome in Meditation: Caravaggio's Montserrat Painting | 1605 in the owner record; an owner publication reports scholarship placing it about 1605–06 | Artwork |
| Saint Jerome Writing by Caravaggio: The Borghese Painting | c.1606 in the owner catalogue; the “1605” URL suffix is inherited | Artwork |
| Saint Jerome Writing by Caravaggio: The Malta Painting | around 1607–08; foundation dates Malaspina's commission to 1608 | Artwork |
| Saint John in the Wilderness at Toledo Cathedral | exact 1598 not established by the cited cathedral account. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at Galleria Corsini, Rome | about 1606 in the national record; older proposals ranged from the late 1590s onward. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at the Capitoline Museums, Rome | 1602. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at the Galleria Borghese | 1609–10 in the current Borghese record. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at the Spring: The Bonello Painting in Malta | early seventeenth century in the institutional account; a precise 1608 is not established there. | Artwork |
| Saint Matthew and the Angel: Caravaggio's Lost First Altarpiece | — | Artwork |
| Salome Receives the Head of John the Baptist: Caravaggio's London Painting | about 1609–10, likely late Naples period in the Gallery's account | Artwork |
| Salome with the Head of John the Baptist: Caravaggio's Madrid Painting | — | Artwork |
| Sleeping Cupid by Caravaggio: The Painting Made in Malta | about 1608, Malta period | Artwork |
| Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge: Is It by Caravaggio? | — | Artwork |
| Supper at Emmaus (1606): Caravaggio's Brera Painting | — | Artwork |
| The Annunciation by Caravaggio in Nancy | c.1607–10 in the collection record; 1608–10 in the museum's restoration account | Artwork |
| The Basel Saint John the Baptist: Once Labelled Caravaggio, Now Maíno | about 1608–10 in that schedule, rather than the legacy URL's 1600. | Artwork |
| The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist by Caravaggio | about 1608; installed in the Oratory on 29 August 1608 | Artwork |
| The Burial of Saint Lucy by Caravaggio in Syracuse | 1608, during Caravaggio's Syracuse stay | Artwork |
| The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio | about 1599–1600 | Artwork |
| The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew by Caravaggio | about 1602–04 in the Trust's object text | Artwork |
| The Cardsharps by Caravaggio | about 1596–97 in the Kimbell's current object record | Artwork |
| The Conversion of Saint Paul: Caravaggio's Odescalchi Panel | commissioned in 1600; painted around 1600–01 | Artwork |
| The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew by Caravaggio | 1606–07 | Artwork |
| The Crucifixion of Saint Peter by Caravaggio | about 1601 | Artwork |
| The Death of the Virgin by Caravaggio | commissioned 1601; completed late 1605 or early 1606, according to the Louvre | Artwork |
| The Denial of Saint Peter by Caravaggio | 1610 | Artwork |
| The Doria Pamphilj Saint John the Baptist: A Second Youth with a Ram | linked compositionally to the Capitoline 1602 picture; an exact production year for this canvas is not established by the owner pages used here. | Artwork |
| The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio: The Vatican Deposition | about 1600–04 in Vatican Museums publication material | Artwork |
| The Flagellation of Christ by Caravaggio: The Capodimonte Altarpiece | around 1607, in the first Naples period | Artwork |
| The Fortune Teller by Caravaggio: The Louvre Version and Its Roman Counterpart | — | Artwork |
| The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist by Caravaggio | early 1600s in the Met catalogue; no more exact owner date asserted here | Artwork |
| The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio | about 1601 in the SPSG presentation | Artwork |
| The Inspiration of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio | usually 1602; also catalogued 1602–03, for the installed final altarpiece | Artwork |
| The Lute Player by Caravaggio: The Hermitage Painting | about 1596 in the Hermitage collection publication; the Hermitage Friends restoration page gives about 1595–96 | Artwork |
| The Magdalen in Ecstasy: Caravaggio, Copies and a Disputed Original | — | Artwork |
| The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio | 1599–1600; unveiled with The Calling in 1600 | Artwork |
| The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula by Caravaggio | — | Artwork |
| The Musicians by Caravaggio | 1597 | Artwork |
| The Resurrection of Lazarus by Caravaggio in Messina | 1609; delivered 10 June 1609 in the owner account | Artwork |
| The Sacrifice of Isaac by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi: A Former Caravaggio Attribution | about 1615–17 in the Nicholas Hall catalogue; “1598” is an inherited URL label, not the accepted date | Artwork |
| The Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio: The Uffizi Painting | about 1603 in the Uffizi catalogue | Artwork |
| The Seven Works of Mercy by Caravaggio | 1606–07, according to the Pio Monte | Artwork |
| The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio: The London Painting | 1601 | Artwork |
| The Taking of Christ by Caravaggio | 1602 | Artwork |
| The Toulouse *Judith Beheading Holofernes*: A Caravaggio Attribution Debate | c.1606–07 if identified with the recorded Naples work; that identification is debated | Artwork |
| Young Sick Bacchus by Caravaggio | about 1595 in the Galleria Borghese catalogue | Artwork |
| Youth with a Ram: Why Caravaggio's Saint John Looks So Unusual | — | Artwork |
No matching pages found.
Discussion
Share a close observation about The Sacrifice of Isaac by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi or a source that clarifies its history.
Which detail changes your reading?
Is there a collection record or document worth comparing?
What remains uncertain?
Join the Conversation
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Caravaggio paint the picture on the “1598” page?
The current Nicholas Hall catalogue attributes it to Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, c.1615–17. It was formerly exhibited as Caravaggio; that is why the old route carries his name and a conflicting date.[1]
Where is Caravaggio's accepted Sacrifice of Isaac?
The Uffizi Galleries in Florence own the accepted Caravaggio painting, dated about 1603, inventory 1890 no. 4659.[2]
How large is Cavarozzi's painting?
The catalogue gives 116 × 175 cm, oil on canvas.[1]
Why was it once called a Caravaggio?
Its dramatic treatment and close relationship to Caravaggio's Uffizi subject encouraged that attribution. Scholarship from the 1990s onward increasingly identified Cavarozzi's hand.[1]
Who owns it now?
The cited exhibition record says it was lent by a private collection after a 2014 sale. It does not provide a verified current public display.[1]
References
- Nicholas Hall, Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, The Sacrifice of Isaac, catalogue and essay by Yuri Primarosa.
- Gallerie degli Uffizi, Caravaggio, Sacrifice of Isaac, inventory 1890 no. 4659.
- Vatican, Genesis 22, the sacrifice of Isaac.
- Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, anonymous copy after Cavarozzi's Sacrifice of Isaac, museum record referring to the formerly Piasecka Johnson original and its changed attribution.
